Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2013
So what made The Carol Burnett Show such an outstanding hit? You have to start with Carol herself, of course. She'd been doing this kind of show for years and was paying attention to what worked and what didn't. She knew it started with the writing staff, and she hired only the best and the brightest. When it was time to put together a cast, she knew the first thing she wanted was a "Harvey Korman type". She did better than that. She got Harvey Korman. She knew you had to have a ladies’ man in the cast, and she got that element with Lyle Waggoner. He was relatively unknown at the time, but she knew how to spot talent. Then there was the need for another female lead. She wanted someone who looked a little like her to play her sister is an ongoing sketch she had planned. That's when she remembered young 17-year-old Vicki Lawrence, who had written a fan letter to her a year earlier. Lawrence had invited her to attend a talent competition in her small town, and Carol decided to go. She was impressed enough by what she saw that she remembered the girl later when casting her show. The resemblance was quite remarkable. The last cast member didn't even really become an actual regular cast member for the first eight years. That doesn't matter, because who can imagine The Carol Burnett Show without the loveable Tim Conway? He would become such a great partner to Korman that the two continued to perform and tour together up until Korman's death in 2008.
Carol herself was not only quite funny, but she was famously generous. It wasn't important to her to feed her own ego. She was well known for feeding her fellow cast-mates and guests the best material. She knew how to get out of the way and was perfectly happy letting someone else shine. It meant the cast was always very comfortable together, and it showed in the performances. There was almost no turnover in personnel, and the unit functioned very much as a repertoire company and family. It's obvious that even today they enjoy each other's company and have only the fondest memories of each other.
Posted in: Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2013
They've been seen over 2 billion times on Youtube. Of course, I'm talking about the cult cartoon sensation Happy Tree Friends. Now our friends over at The Media Grind want to bring some happy times to three lucky Upcomingdiscs readers. We're giving away 3 copies of Happy Tree Friends: Complete Disaster. It's Mondo Media's most popular series and now it can be yours.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2013
"Ladies and gentlemen. You are about to see the Naked City. I'm Bert Leonard, the producer. As you can see we're flying over an island, a city, a particular city...and this is the story of a number of people, a story also of the city itself. It was not photographed in the studio. Quite the contrary. The actors played out their roles in the streets and the buildings of New York itself."
On September 30th, 1958 television audiences heard this narration for the first time. They had no way of knowing this, of course, but they were about to watch one of the most influential police dramas in the history of the industry. They were about to watch, for the first time, The Naked City.
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2013
" There is nothing more relaxing than knowing that the world is crazier than you are."
When Disney Studios bought the Marvel line, what they were buying was really a printing press that printed freshly-minted money. That doesn't mean it was automatic, however. It was done right. Starting with the first two Iron Man films, the franchise that would lead to Joss Whedon's superior Avengers film was one of creating a universe. God made the universe in seven days. It took Marvel five movies. What we end up with is not just a fine collection of treats for the geeks and fanboys. We're left with an entire world, a world that we are all invited at about the pace of two films a year to come and play within. No one is pretending that they're making serious cinema here. What they're doing is making serious cash. To do that there is only one order of the day. Thou shalt entertain. After two hours visiting with Thor: The Dark World -- I'm entertained.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 7th, 2013
"I like people to go away from a Queen show feeling fully entertained, having had a good time. I think Queen songs are pure escapism, like going to see a good film - after that, they go away and say that was great, and go back to all their problems" - Freddie Mercury
I had that very pleasure back in the late 1970's when I attended a Queen concert at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. It was one heck of a show. Freddie was flamboyant as always. They were also quite good. I still remember an acoustic set they did in the middle. Take away the "plugs" and you really find out what kind of musicians you're dealing with. Apparently, pretty good ones.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 6th, 2013
Ike Evans (Morgan) owns the most swank hotel in Miami. It's the Miramar Playa. He bought the land at a song from his deceased wife's family, and he's turned it into a luxury city where the likes of Frank Sinatra call home. He's determined to make it without caving to the influence of his minority partner, who happens to go by the name of The Butcher. He's Ben Diamond (Huston), and he wants the hotel to become a kingdom of gambling and other profitable vices. Sure, Ike allows a little prostitution and backroom bookie action, but he wants to keep the hotel pretty much legit. That's hard with a bank nut that runs $65,000 a month.
He has a young wife, Vera (Kurylenko) who was once the sensational Vera Cruz, a Cuban Tropicana dancer. He has two sons. Danny (Cooke) is studying law and doesn't want any part of the hotel business. He's being recruited by the DA's office in order to get a man inside. They don't really want Ike. They want Ben Diamond, and if they have to squeeze Ike to get to him, then that's what you might call collateral damage. Danny's in love with Mercedes (Garcia-Lorido), who is a maid at the hotel and daughter to Ike's hotel manager Victor (Vazquez). Victor's wife was killed in the Castro takeover of Cuba, and Ike's trying to get her ashes out. Stevie (Strait) is Ike's youngest son. Stevie tends bar in the hotel's famous Atlantis Bar (remember that Miami bar in Analyze This)? He does want the life of his father. He's also a bit of a womanizer. But he's fallen in love with Lily Diamond (Marais), who also loves him. They have a rather torrid affair. The only trouble is that Lily is The Butcher's wife, and he is the jealous type.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2013
When Vikings Season 1 first arrived, I have to admit I was pretty excited. I was particularly eager to see footage from their very first game. Fran Tarkenton came off the bench, and the Vikings went on to become the first expansion team ever to win their very first game. OK, as Baby, our Shepherd/Chow mix dog film reviewer would say: I made that last part up. You'd have to have been living under a pretty isolated rock to have missed all of the buzz over The History Channel's epic new drama series Vikings.
This is quite a step up for the History Channel folks. They've certainly produced a great number of historical dramatizations and documentaries, but nothing they've ever done before compares with this series. We used to review a ton of their stuff here for years, so you know I've liked a lot of the things they've done. But Vikings puts them in a totally new stratosphere. This is historical drama that you've only seen before in the likes of Rome or The Tudors. Of course, there's a very good reason for that. Michael Hirst created the series and is the creative force behind it. He served the same positions on The Tudors. That puts expectations here very high, and the show has met or exceeded them all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2013
The boys are back, and I only have one question. What the heck took so long? I have a lot of respect for Pixar and the groundbreaking films they've created over the last couple of decades, but I have to question someone's marketing good sense when they get a sequel to Cars out before anyone bothered to look towards what is arguably the studio’s best creation to date. For me it's all about Monsters, Inc. I hadn't fallen so hard for an animated film since The Lion King, and so I was thrilled when I got the invitation to graduate early from Monsters University.
Who are "the boys", you might ask. If you're serious, then you might actually be reading the wrong piece. For the rest of you, "the boys" are Mike Wazowski (Crystal) and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (Goodman). And it's been a dozen years since we last saw them in Monsters, Inc. A sequel to that film might be a bit problematic. We learn that laughs provide far more power than screams, and we leave the power structure of Monsteropolis on its head. Pixar's imaginative team took the best route available to them and decided to go the prequel pathway, and we get to see Mike and Sully as college students. Both have their sights on becoming master scarers. For Sulley, it's in the blood. He comes from a long line of successful scarers, and he's not really taking the college scene very seriously. For Sulley it's about fun. Mike, on the other hand, has stars in his eyes and works harder than anyone else on campus. But he might have to come to grips with the fact that he just might not have what it takes.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2013
The following cautionary tale is brought to you by the folks at Fox and American Horror Story:Asylum out on DVD/Blu-ray.
Whilst the criminally insane remain under the care of sadistic medical staff in the second chapter of the Emmy winning series, American Horror Story: Asylum, released this week, we are going to look at our favorite medical villains who prescribe the maximum dose of patient dread and suffering. Are you sure you want that warm sponge-bath sir …?
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2013
"You won't see it coming".
Ridley Scott has undergone a bit of a change in his last couple of films. He has become more contemplative and philosophical. It's certainly understandable. In the middle of filming The Counsellor, his brother and producing partner Tony Scott took his own life by jumping from a bridge. Obviously production on this film was halted for a time. Credit the director for pulling it together and getting the film back on track and finally released. Still, as you watch the film, you can't help but wonder if it wasn't heavily influenced by his own personal tragedy. It's not an uplifting film at all; in fact, it's quite depressing. If Prometheus was about the meaning of life. I'd have to say that The Counsellor is about the meaning of death.
